Event: Hammer Museum

Earlier this month, I went to The Hammer Museum in Westwood. I had seen the museum many times when I have been out and about in The Village, yet had never taken the time to actually go inside. I must admit, I had very low expectations to see this museum, and I don't consider myself a very 'artistic' person. However, just like I have found myself surprised to be able to relate to many art forms in each week's discussions, I found myself being very intrigued and enthusiastic about the Hammer Museum.

When we first got there, I was so excited to see people swirling around in these chairs that one could spin around in almost like a spinning top, and not fall over. I spent a lot of time laughing and having so much fun. I did not totally understand how this related to art until I saw later in an exhibit, that art can be used to overcome barriers. These chairs, for example, was proof that art can turn something with a function so clear like a chair, into a toy or something to enjoy.

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When entering the actual art exhibits, I was very surprised to see art that I actually enjoyed. I previously thought that I would see very abstract art that I could not relate to and would not understand. However, I was surprised when I saw the Charles Gaines exhibit and thought it was very interesting. I especially liked his pieces with trees and nature.

I was also very surprised to see pieces by very famous artists that I had learned about in art classes live Van Gogh. I thought it was really great that with free admission, anyone can go see some of the most famous art in the world. Overall, I had a very positive experience, and it was much more fun than I originally expected. I'm so happy that I was able to go, and I think everyone who has the opportunity should go, since it is a free resource so close to campus.

Works Cited

(1) http://hammer.ucla.edu/blog/2015/03/building-family-time-with-build-a-bike/

(2) http://hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/2015/charles-gaines-gridwork-1974-1989/

Unit Four Blog Assignment

When I think about art, and then think about medicine, my mind does not easily make a connection between the two. However, after going through this weeks materials, I have come to realize how with technology, the two can be very interconnected. In the video of lecture (1), it was pointed one very important similarity between the two subjects:the human body. In order for one to excel in each field, they have to have a good understanding of how the body works and its functions. 

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There is an article on Forbes that poses the question, “Can Studying Art Help Medical Students Become Better Doctors?” (2). It talks about how medical schools are becoming more progressive and accepting those with a more diverse background with artistic skills involved.  Also, the Ted Talk by Diane Gromala (3) showed me how art, technology, and medicine can work together to treat chronic pain. When medical technology showed her information and pictures of her body, she was able to create a passion through it. It started as taking pictures of roadkill, but with an education of technology, she was able to design an artistic form of technology that helped with her chronic pain.

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 I think that this is a great example of how these three fields can work together to solve many health issues for the world. A good example of someone doing this in today’s society is Virgil Wong, who “creates experiments in art, medicine, health, and technology” (4). He works with a health company that creates 3-D bodies to try to improve healthcare around the world. Both art and medicine are connected through these new technological movements he is making. He has drawings in museums all over that display the importance of and advancements in medicine. In an article called “Why We Need The Arts in Medicine”(5), it addresses many of the same ideas that I had already learned about in the lecture videos and resources. However, it brought up the fact that, “The arts can promote physician well-being”, which I think is important because of the therapeutic and relaxing aspects art can give someone. It would help doctors both make better diagnoses and also make more progress in the medicinal field. Hopefully society progresses more towards this equilibrium overtime and recognizes the benefits of art and medicine together. 

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Works Cited:

(1)Vesna, Victoria. Medicine Body Lecture. Video. 

(2)Glatter, Robert, MD. "Can Studying Art Help Medical Students Become Better Doctors?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

(3)"TEDxAmericanRiviera - Diane Gromala - Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

(4)"About | Biography." Virgil Wong. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

(5)Christensen, Gary, Md. "Why We Need the Arts in Medicine." Why We Need the Arts in Medicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

Images:

(1)<http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/3/3a/Draw-a-Body-Step-3-Version-3.jpg/670px-Draw-a-Body-Step-3-Version-3.jpg>

(2)<http://www.confrontingpain.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/PainWeek_2013_Pain_Studies_lab_gromala.jpg>

(3)<http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/uponsun/lam-rim-doctor-prescribing-music.jpg>

Unit 3 Blog Assignment

The relationship between Robots and Arts are very important for today’s modern society. When I first watched the video on Professor Machiko Kusuhara’s lecture of robotics in Japan, I saw just how advanced the relationship between art and robotics is with today’s technology.(1)

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In this era of industrialization, artists and robotic engineers must work together to create the most efficient products. For example, those in the car manufacturing industry find it very important to combine design and robot technology to create fast, efficient cars that also are appealing to consumers. When researching this topic, I found that there is even an Automobile Design career, where they “will make basic sketches of the automobile using CAD, or computer-aided drafting. These drawings are usually 3-D images, which will include every little derail of a vehicle...After the drawings are complete, automobile designers will also usually create a scale model of the vehicle”. (2)

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When thinking about how society responds to industrialization, I thought about the movie “Her”. Because it is set in the future, I think the exaggeration of the technology in the film shows how dependent humans are on robots, and the possibility of them even having “an authentic relationship with an inhuman entity”. (3)

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I think that with our rapidly evolving world, these possibilities are becoming more and more realistic, and we as a society need to understand the negative effects of technology and art, like in Walter Benjamin’s essay, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. In it he describes how sometimes technology can go too far and overcome some of the most important aspects of art like the creativity involved in it. (4)

It is important for us to understand how to implement these two skills of art and robotics to create a more creative and unique society, rather than a uniform one. Because “the robotification of society is coming” (5), and we need to be prepared. 

Works Cited:

Images-

(1)Asimo Humanoid Robot. Digital image. Http://robostuff.com/wp-content/robostuff-com/gallery/robots-catalog/asimo.jpg. N.p., n.d. Web.

(2)Car Design Drawing. Digital image. Http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/06/ndprofilewithnotes.jpg. N.p., n.d. Web.

(3)"Her" Digital image. Http://mundanalruidophotography.com/2014/07/20/her-o-como-ser-nono-hasta-limites-insospechados/. N.p., n.d. Web.

Articles and Sources-

(1)"Robotics MachikoKusahara 1." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.

(2)"Automobile Design Careers | Becoming an Automotive Designer." TheArtCareerProjectcom. N.p., 12 Jan. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.

(3)"HOME." Go Into The Story Movie Analysis Her Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.

(4)Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.

Kristie.Mass-produced Art at Ikea. Digital image. Swedish Freak. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2012

(5)Allain, Rhett. "The Robotification of Society Is Coming | WIRED."Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.

Unit Two Blog Assignment

Most people would differentiate between being an ‘art’ person, or a ‘math’ person, and would not see the relation that there is between the two. However, math and art have a lot in common. Both have a lot to do with shapes like hexagons, octagons, tetrahedrons, and others. All of these connections have shown me how important a knowledge of both subjects is. 

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The video lecture for this week showed how many mathematical ideas like zero, have greatly impacted perspective in modern art. In the past, artists had to use geometry and math to make their paintings more realistic, but now many of them use computers. This means they still have to understand the way that math helps them create their art.

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 In Linda Dalrymple Henderson’s article, “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art”, she describes how new modern art styles like Cubism drew a connection between artists and mathematicians as they focused on the fourth dimension (3). Edwin A. Abbott shows another example of this connection in “Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions”, when he describes all of the dimensions and how artists need to understand dimensions when they create art (4). 

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Learning all of these things about the connections between art and science has really opened my eyes to how many things in life are inter-related that we don't even notice. Based on what I've learned this week, art, math and science are all very inter-related in many ways. Without each other, each subject would not be as advanced as it is today. Thankfully, we can work together to keep advancing each subject further and further. 

Sources:

(1)We All Love Math. Digital image.Https://www.pinterest.com/pin/243475923574936815/. 1 Jan. 2013. Web.

(2)Programming, Math, and Art. Digital image.Http://www.computersforcreativity.com/about/programming-art-math. 1 Jan. 2014. Web.

(3)Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art. Rev. ed. Print.

(4)Abbott, Edwin Abbott. Flatland a Romance of Many Dimensions. Champaign, Ill.: Project Gutenberg, 1992. Print.

(5)Hypercube. Digital image.Http://f.tqn.com/y/arthistory/1/L/q/v/Hypercube.jpg. Web.

Unit One Blog Assignment

When asked which subject is more important, Science or Humanities, most people would agree that they are of equal importance in Western Society. However, that does not mean that they are viewed in the same way. C.P Snow draws attention to this contrast between science and humanities/arts in society in The Two Cultures and The Scientific Revolution (1).

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After reading this paper, many examples of this binary immediately come to mind. As a student-athlete at UCLA, I know the familiar "jock vs. nerd" stereotype all too well. Portrayed in TV shows, movies, and books everywhere, this stereotype does hold some weight when it comes to college majors among athletes.

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 Almost everyone I know on my team has a 'humanities'-type major like history, sociology, or communications. Most student athletes stray away from any science majors, because they have a connotation for being much too hard or too rigorous, often for 'nerds' (4). With our hectic schedules, it would be almost impossible to maintain a high GPA in those science classes, not to mention find time in our schedule for those long lab based classes. We see these majors to be less nerdy, even though science and math classes are of incredible importance. We even distinguish these majors as "North Campus" (or humanities) and "South Campus" (math and science) majors, with each campus having their own stereotypes. C.P Snow acknowledged the way that educational systems seem to favor humanities and arts over science classes. I think that this major divide between the two subjects is unfortunate, because I believe that it is very important for one to always desire to learn, and I find myself often fascinated with the many scientific facts that I learn. For example, there is a page on Facebook called "I fucking love science" that posts extremely interesting scientific ideas or facts that I always click on and find so interesting.

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It draws my attention because it portrays science in a less intimidating, more relatable way, so more people can enjoy it. This is a good example of the Third Culture that C.P Snow strove towards, a culture where technology can bridge the worlds of Art and Science. I think this is very important because the society can become more intelligent and less ignorant as a whole, which is a very important change to make.




Sources
(1)Snow, C.P. "Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution." Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. Print
(2)http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-         images/Books/Pix/pictures/2013/8/14/1376500532138/CP-Snow-008.jpg
(3)http://www.ggis.ro/web/media/k2/items/cache/9415f9bcd76598f9c08127db1641b596_XL.jpg
(4)http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/2008-11-18-majors-graphic_N.htm
(5)http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/compound-eye/files/2013/04/ifls.jpg